Monday, February 11, 2008

Austin Texas Turns to Ethanol

The oil barons of Texas must have been out of town last month. While they weren't looking, the Austin Texas City Council unanimously approved a multi-year contract worth up to $138 million to supply alternative fuel for city vehicles in the coming years.

Within the next four months, the majority of the city of Austin’s vehicle fleet will be running on alternative fuels, including biodiesel and ethanol. The remaining fleet will operate on an alternative fuel blend of E10 Ethanol (90 percent gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol). The move marks another step in the City’s implementation of the Austin Climate Protection Plan.

The Austin Climate Protection Plan, introduced by Mayor Will Wynn and adopted by the City Council last year, is aimed at making Austin the leading city in the nation in the fight against global warming. Broad elements of the plan are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with steps such as making all City facilities, fleets and operations totally carbon-neutral by 2020.